Author of the Fortnight 
John Grisham is a name that is synonymous with the modern legal thriller. From a man working at a small Southaven, Mississippi law practice, He has become one of the best known authors of modern times.
John Grisham was born in 1955 in Jonesboro, Arkansas, as the son of a construction worker and a homemaker. As a child, he wanted to become a professional baseball player. Realities made him change course and a majored in accounting from the Mississippi State University. John Grisham graduated from the law school at Ole Miss in 1981 and practiced criminal defense and personal injury litigation for almost a decade at Southaven. He was elected to the state House of Representatives in 1983 and served until 1990.
John Grisham first thought of writing a novel when, in a DeSoto Country courthouse he overheard the traumatic testimony of a twelve-year-old rape victim. He started fantasizing of what would have happened if the girl's father had executer her assailants. On this train of thought, he completed his first novel "A Time to Kill" in 1987 and sold it to Wynwood Press for a paltry sum.
However, in spite of initial rejections, he sat down to write his second novel "The Firm" on the day he sold his first. Grisham's next endeavor blossomed with Paramount Pictures buying the film rights for $ 600,000.
John Grisham, then, became a sudden hot property among publishers and the book rights of "The Firm" were bought by Doubleday. "The Firm" had a stint of 47 weeks on The New York Times Bestseller list. It went on to become the bestselling novel of 1991.
John Grisham followed up his success with international chartbusters like The Pelican Brief, The Client, The Rainmaker, The Runaway Jury, and a host of other best selling titles. Nine of his novels have been turned into films.